Hockey

BOSTON (CBS) – Joe Haggerty of Comcast SportsNet New England thinks the Bruins need a big, physical “Dennis Seidenberg-type” defenseman – the only problem is teams aren’t willing to budge on their top 4 guys just yet.

“They need a veteran top 4 defenseman, a left shot would be nice,” Haggerty told Toucher & Rich Monday morning. “That’s what the Bruins are looking for, but you get to a point where there’s not much out there, so you have to lower your standards a little if you hope to find something.”

Torey Krug, Matt Bartkowski, Kevan Miller and Dougie Hamilton all have bright futures ahead of them, but sometimes their lack of experience is evident on the ice. Haggs says the Bruins are comfortable with the youth at that position, but it wouldn’t hurt to bring in a veteran that can help down the stretch.

“The Bruins knew when they were going with young defensemen there would be growing pains, and that’s just the way it is with young players. They like what they have, but they’d like to add to it for the playoffs in case of injury and have a more bigger, stronger defensive presence in their own zone.”

“I’ve had people in the Bruins organization tell me that there’s very slim pickings right now as far as defensemen that are available. They might have to wait until March to find somebody that can come in and help.”

The Edmonton Oilers were in town on Saturday, which meant the homecoming for fan favorite Andrew Ference. Haggs talked about his return to the city, which could be a permanent one come retirement.

“Ference didn’t want to leave, it was a salary cap thing that both sides understood and handled with class and dignity. After the game he talked about returning to Boston to live here after he’s done with Edmonton. That’s definitely a thought on his mind. He planted such firm roots here.”

Listen below for the full discussion, including Haggerty’s Olympic medal favorites and a preview of Tuesday night’s game against Vancouver: